Chapter 103: Treating Madness With Madness, Fighting Decay With Decay! Monthly Ticket Bonus Chapter 8
After Zhang Biao commented, “The skill level is really poor,” the other side fell into silence.
But Zhang Biao’s voice rang out again, tinged with disdain: “You can’t even threaten people? I wonder who invited you!”
“Going back and forth with ‘house fire,’ ‘carriage spooked,’ and ‘child fell into a well’ – can’t you come up with anything new?”
“Did your master only teach you this much? Are you paid enough to scare people? If not, tell me, and I’ll help you demand your salary?”
The other side: “.”
Zhang Biao patted Shen Lang, who was so scared he was about to wet his pants, and then surveyed the pale-faced crowd. His tone suddenly became relaxed, even tinged with disappointment:
“Did you all hear that?”
“This is the extent of your threatening tactics, it’s so outdated!”
“Look at how scared you are! Can’t you show some backbone?”
“When we had the **Dying for a Cause** training class, what did I teach you? Have you all forgotten?”
Hearing this, Shen Lang and the others’ hearts suddenly tightened, as if recalling that **Dying for a Cause** training class.
Then Zhang Biao continued talking to himself:
“Why do they only dare to use their mouths and not reveal themselves? Why do they only dare to blockade us on this dark river? Why do they only dare to bring up family members but not touch a single hair on our heads?”
He paused, his voice suddenly rising like thunder exploding in everyone’s ears:
“Because they’re afraid! They’re afraid of the list in our hands! They’re afraid of the messy accounts we’ve uncovered!”
“Even more, they’re afraid of me, Zhang Biao!”
“They don’t dare to make a move, at least not yet!”
“Because my ‘Audit Chariot’ hasn’t been dismantled yet! I’m still an official of the court!”
“If they move against your families now, it’s outright rebellion! It’s handing a knife to the Emperor! And the Emperor is just looking for an excuse to slaughter!”
“So, they only dare to use these despicable tactics to scare you, to make you panic, to force me to stop the audit!”
He said, turning to look at the darkness opposite, and mockingly said: “A bunch of cowards hiding their heads! That’s all you’ve got!”
Boom—
Though the sound was small, it was like a great bell, deafening.
It was also like parting the clouds to see the sun, instantly clearing the minds of Shen Lang and the others.
That’s right!
Although the Emperor cleared out the storeroom, he didn’t dismiss us!
Zhang Biao is still the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate!
We’re still in our current positions!
The audit is still officially ongoing!
If the other side dares to make a move now, they’re just seeking their own destruction!
Once they understood this, the fear in their hearts suddenly receded. Although worry remained, they were at least not as desperate as before.
The people on the opposing boat clearly hadn’t expected Zhang Biao to be fearless, and instead, his words had almost stripped them bare. For a moment, they were speechless.
But Zhang Biao seized the moment, suddenly turned, pointed towards the Imperial Palace, and his voice boomed like war drums:
“Brothers! The Emperor treats us like ‘mad dogs’ and throws us into the wolf pack!”
“They want the wolves to scare us to death, or make us panic and get bitten to death by the wolves!”
“But he forgot!”
“What I brought out weren’t dogs! They are a pack of starved wolf cubs that will devour people!”
“We who are barefoot are not afraid of those with shoes! Anyone who dares to touch our families will lead to mutual destruction!”
“Tomorrow, I will go and beat the Drum of Hearing Petitions! I will smash the Jingyang Bell, and write the house numbers, the number of people in each household, and the names of their chickens, ducks, and dogs on the Drum of Hearing Petitions and the Jingyang Bell!”
“I will openly tell them! If a single hair on my brothers and their families is harmed! If a drop of their skin is broken! I will hold those on the list responsible!”
“I will lead you all! To lie at their doorsteps every day! Lying there with chamber pot lamps! From morning till night! Without eating or drinking, just lying there! Let’s see who goes crazy first!”
“Let’s see if the Emperor protects his ‘vermin of the state’ or protects us ‘mad wolves’ who bite for him!”
They’ve gone mad!
Completely mad!
But this mad speech was like a shot of adrenaline, injected fiercely into the hearts of every member of the ‘Audit Team’.
Responding to madness with madness, countering corruption with corruption.
Revealing their soft underbelly clearly and using it as a weapon.
This was simply a stroke of genius.
Shen Lang and the others’ eyes lit up instantly upon hearing Zhang Biao’s words.
Their backs straightened involuntarily.
That’s right!
What is there to fear?
We barefoot ones are not afraid of those with shoes, let’s fight them.
Zhang Biao finally looked at the silent official boat opposite, revealing a grim, wolf-like smile: “Go back and tell your master!”
“I accept his kind reminder! And let him listen to me carefully!”
“I will protect my brothers! Anyone who dares to extend their claws, I will chop off their claws!”
“Oh, and by the way.”
He paused, a cruel smile playing on his lips, and also kindly reminded them: “Take out all those dirty little things hidden in their nests and expose them for all the people of Yingtian Prefecture to see!”
“Don’t believe me? Just try it!”
With that, he waved his hand sharply and roared at the boatmen on his own vessel and the stunned onlookers who were watching the show:
“What the hell are you looking at?! Haven’t you ever seen a ‘mad wolf’ curse people?!”
“Set sail! Ram them!”
“Damn it, they’re blocking my way to eat pig’s head meat!”
The boatmen on the pleasure boat were dumbfounded, but seeing Zhang Biao’s arrogant and murderous demeanor, they instinctively began to operate.
“Boom—!”
The pleasure boat suddenly surged forward and indeed rammed into the larger official boat.
The people on the opposite boat clearly hadn’t expected Zhang Biao to be this mad, and a flurry of shouts, panicked cries, and curses arose.
The official boat hurriedly retreated, appearing somewhat flustered.
“Hahaha! A bunch of cowards!”
Zhang Biao stood at the bow, laughing heartily, the night wind blowing his dishevelled hair, looking like a madman.
Then, he turned to Shen Lang and the others behind him: “Brothers! Did you see? The kind are bullied! That’s all the courage they have!”
As his voice fell, he waved his hand: “Continue the music! Continue the dance! We won’t go home tonight until we’re drunk!”
“Tomorrow morning, come with me to collect your ‘consolation money’! Then, we’ll go visit them door-to-door!”
The pleasure boat sailed back into the lights along the river channel where the other boat had made way.
The people on the official boat behind them, as if they had swallowed a fly, silently receded into the deeper darkness.
On the river, only Zhang Biao’s wild laughter and the renewed, albeit slightly off-key but extremely satisfying, uproar from the pleasure boat remained.
The members of the “Audit Team” were still apprehensive, but also filled with excitement.
They looked at the figure at the bow, like a steadfast pillar, and for the first time, they clearly understood.
Following this ‘Brother Biao,’ the future might be completely dark, but the process… was damn exciting.
However, just as they were feeling incredibly stimulated, an official boat belonging to the Imperial Guard approached Zhang Biao’s pleasure boat.
It was brightly lit, revealing Jiang Huan’s expressionless face, and beside him, Yun Ming, carrying an Imperial Decree and warily eyeing Zhang Biao.
“Censor Zhang!”
Jiang Huan called out from about ten meters away from the pleasure boat.
Zhang Biao and the others blinked slightly and turned to look.
“Oh, Commander Jiang?”
Zhang Biao smiled, even with some anticipation: “Did the Emperor send you to arrest me? Am I to be flayed and stuffed, or executed by slow slicing for violating the Imperial Decree?!”
Jiang Huan: “.”
Yun Ming: “.”
Shen Lang and the others: “.”
“Censor Zhang, receive the decree—!”
Clearly, Yun Ming was accustomed to Zhang Biao’s “desire for death,” and directly picked up the Imperial Decree to read:
“By order of the Emperor, who rules by Heaven’s will: Zhang Biao, Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, for meritorious audit and brave conduct, is hereby promoted to Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, to oversee all Account Clearing Matters!”
“Additionally, Shen Lang, Censor of the Jiangxi Circuit of the Censorate, Censor Zhao Fengman, Ministry of War Department Director Sun Gui, Hanlin Academy Editor Li Mo, and Director of the Ministry of Personnel Wu Nai Da, along with all other officials who cooperated in the audit, are granted a One Rank Promotion.”
“It is hoped that you will continue to strive, Investigate to the End, and not fail the Emperor’s grace! Respectfully submitted—”
Whoosh!
After the decree was read, the pleasure boat fell into deathly silence.
Everyone was stunned, including Zhang Biao.
A promotion?!
Everyone got promoted?!
I’m promoted to Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate?!
To oversee Account Clearing Matters?!
Shen Lang and the others got a One Rank Promotion, to Investigate to the End?!
What kind of unexpected turn of events is this?! What happened to being flayed and stuffed? What happened to execution by slow slicing? Why is everyone getting promoted?!
For the first time, true confusion and vigilance appeared in Zhang Biao’s eyes.
What trick is this old fox playing now? Isn’t this level of setting him up to fail a bit too much?!
Jiang Huan watched Zhang Biao’s ghost-like expression with a flicker of satisfaction, but his face remained cold:
“Vice Censor-in-Chief Zhang, please accept the decree? His Majesty is waiting for you to continue to demonstrate your capabilities.”
Zhang Biao did not accept the decree, but instead narrowed his eyes and stared at Jiang Huan, saying: “Old Jiang, what else did the Emperor say? For example, when will he kill me?”
Jiang Huan said expressionlessly: “The Emperor only ordered me to take over your temporary storeroom and be responsible for the inventory of stolen money and goods. As for anything else, please ask Eunuch Yun.”
“Eunuch Yun?”
Zhang Biao paused for a moment, then stepped forward to press Yun Ming: “What else did the Emperor say?”
Yun Ming saw him approach and instinctively shielded the Imperial Decree in his hands, saying:
“The Emperor also said that Zhang Biao, Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, has worked diligently in the audit, and his contributions are of great benefit to the state. I am deeply pleased. He is hereby granted three days of leave to rest and relax, and all expenses shall be recorded in the Imperial Treasury’s accounts.”
“Also, convey this decree to the Yingtian Prefecture Magistrate and the Five City Patrols: During the leave period of Minister Zhang, if he engages in any acts of smashing, looting, burning, oppressing women, or drunk disturbances on the Qinhuai River, as long as no lives are lost, all shall be considered… considered ‘passionate and genuine in their spirit.’ There is no need to interfere; simply record it and report it to Jiang Huan.”
Boom!
Upon hearing this, the entire place erupted in commotion!
Even Zhang Biao couldn’t help but look shocked.
Old Zhu is trying to push them completely into the fire pit!
Fine! Fine! Fine!
So this is how we’re playing?!
Zhang Biao laughed in extreme anger, then his gaze coldly swept over Yun Ming and Jiang Huan, and he said in a deep voice: “Go back and tell the Emperor, I, Zhang Biao, accept this decree!”
He accepted it?
He actually accepted the decree?
Jiang Huan and Yun Ming were both quite surprised.
At the same time, a bad premonition faintly arose in their hearts.
